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Author: Andrew Aquilina

SME Chamber Confirmed as Best Business Supporter

Posted on by Andrew Aquilina

SME Chamber confirmed as best business supporter as it wins national award for second consecutive year

 

Left: SME Chamber CEO MS. Abigail Agius Mamo, Center: Mr. Godwin Warr – Head Commerce Department and Right: Head of EU Affairs and Communications Mr. Fabian Demicoli

The Malta Chamber of SMEs has once again won first prize at the National Supporting Business Awards under the remit of the Ministry for the Economy.

The Award was won on the basis of supporting businesses in their sustainable transition and support environmental aspects such as the circular economy, climate neutrality, clean energy and resource efficiency. The SME Chambers’ project is called ‘A Fair Deal for Maltese Businesses’. 

The Green Deal, which was first announced in December 2019, came with a very innovative concept. The European Commission (EC) immediately stated that the Green Deal is very ambitious and will require a big change in the private sector. Yet, The EC also said that this transition would be a fair and just one and that it will ask the Member States to ensure that nobody is left behind. 
The SME Chamber has risen to this great challenge and has taken it upon itself to ensure that, with the collaboration of many stakeholders, Malta would not just be on the forefront of the Green Deal but would also champion the theme and impact of having a just and fair transition.  
By engaging and collaborating with different stakeholders the SME Chamber is aiding in the implementation of new EU targets and requirements from a small business perspective and ensuring that these small businesses are at the heart of every strategy related to the green deal.  

The Malta Chamber of SMEs takes this opportunity to thank its collaborators in this project, mainly, the Ministry for Energy, Environment and Enterprise, Malta Enterprise, the Energy and Water Agency, the Water Service Corporation, CE Malta and the Ministry for the Economy and EU Funds.

Ms. Abigail Agius Mamo (Malta Chamber of SMEs), Mr Godwin Warr (Commerce Department) and Mr. Anthony David Gatt (Malta Enterprise)

Malta Chamber of SMEs positively welcomes measure aimed at addressing banking issues

Posted on by Andrew Aquilina

The Malta Chamber of SMEs has been very vociferous in pushing for the improvement and the accessibility of banking services. Multiple discussions were held with the Prime Minister, the Minister for Finance, the Minister for the Economy and the banks and their representative Association.

The SME Chamber therefore greatly welcomes the measure announced yesterday by Economy Minister Hon. Silvio Schembri, some of which come out of proposals pushed by the SME Chamber itself. The SME Chamber commends the government on prioritising this important subject, given the drastic deterioration

of the banking services and also the failures in the market functioning. This marks a very courageous move from the governments’ side in support to businesses, something the SME Chamber greatly appreciates.

Enshrining the right to a bank account to self-employed and businesses is an important basic right that is a very good step forward. It is unfortunate that escalating the matter to a level that required legislative action was needed to give businesses this basic need.

The Steering committee that has been launched is also an important tool to define a common due diligence process so as to ensure consistency. Whilst the SME Chamber is in favour of having a robust and rigorous process, the Malta Chamber of SMEs maintains its position that businesses should not be overburdened with what is unnecessary, therefore much fine-tuning is required in that respect. The process should also run efficiently and automated as far as possible. Additionally clear timeframes must be set to avoid undue delay, and provide better guidance to all stakeholders.

The SME Chamber looks forward to seeing these measure implemented for the benefit of Malta as a whole and to ensure a fair and adequate eco-system for businesses to operate in Malta.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs will continue its work with the stakeholders involved to achieve further advancement in this respect.